Fifth Royal Tank Regiment

With a history that dates back to the First World War 5th RTR has a remarkable record in two world wars.

Tank Museum photo No. 1524/A/4

As E Battalion, Tank Corps it served on the Western Front and had a detachment in Palestine, where this photo was taken. It was thus the first tank regiment ever to operate tanks in a desert environment.

Tank Museum photo No. 6206/D/3

In the years between the wars, equipped with Medium Tanks, 5th Battalion Royal Tank Corps was a major player in the important tank exercises of that era. For most of this period it was based at Tidworth, on Salisbury Plain where many of these mock tank battles took place.

Tank Museum photo No. 1802/B/3

In World War 2 it had an equally varied time. As part of 1st Armoured Division 5th Royal Tank Regiment went to France in 1940 and subsequently to North Africa. It served right through that campaign and then went to Italy, now in 22nd Armoured Brigade of 7th Armoured Division. The Fifth came back to Britain with the division in January 1944 and now equipped with Cromwell tanks landed in Normandy on 7th June - D plus one.

Fifth RTR was disbanded in 1970. Its regimental museum is the Tank Museum.